Richt has ‘big news,’ but not about QBs (PLUS: Hoops transfer finds new home)
(Updated 3 p.m.)
Buck Belue and John Kincade were hoping for big news from Mark Richt on their 680 The Fan show Wednesday afternoon.
“Coach, let’s cut right to the chase today,” Belue said. “We’re expecting this big announcement on the quarterbacks. You want to go ahead and make that today live on our show?”
“Well, I do have big news,” Richt responded. “I got big news.”
And the news is . . .
“We got at least eight or nine guys,” Richt said, “graduating in this semester.”
As for that other piece of news Bulldog Nation awaits: No news yet.
Richt said after the G-Day game that he hoped to have a post-spring depth chart (at quarterback and all other positions) available by the end of this week. But Georgia sports information director Claude Felton sent out an e-mail this morning with word that the depth chart shouldn’t be expected this week after all.
Maybe next week.
The position coaches are still in the process of “exit interviews” with their players. Those one-on-one meetings are held after spring practice each year for coaches to provide players an assessment of where they stand and what they need to work on over the summer. Richt has said the depth chart won’t be posted until all players have had their meetings.
Slowing the process: Several coaches have been out of town this week, visiting practices at other schools.
On the radio with Belue and Kincade, Richt offered no hints about the quarterback pecking order.
“My brother Craig got a chance to go to all the [spring] scrimmages and the G-Day game,” Richt said. “But after every scrimmage he had a different guy he liked.
“So it’s not as clear-cut as anybody might want to think. It’s hard to have somebody just heads and tails above the others when they’re all very talented guys. If one guy was just flat-out better than the other guys by a long shot, it’d be real easy. But the good news is, we’ve got some very capable guys. It’s tough to make the call. ”
———————————————
Drazen Zlovaric, who left Georgia’s basketball program last month with plans to transfer to another school, has found his new home.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga announced today that Zlovaric, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward from Serbia, has signed scholarship papers and will join Mocs program. He’ll have to sit out the 2010-11 season under NCAA transfer rules, then will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Zlovaric played in 43 games for Georgia the past two seasons, averaging 6.3 minutes and 1.0 points. He said he was transferring in search of more playing time.
Zlovaric first came to the United States in the fall of 2006 as an exchange student at Cleveland (Tenn.) High School, near Chattanooga. He played one basketball season there. He finished his prep career at the Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C.
“We are thrilled to get him,” Chattanooga coach John Shulman said in announcing Zlovaric’s signing. “He is skilled, athletic and loves the game. His work ethic is off the charts.”
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231 comments Add your comment
kevin
April 15th, 2010
12:53 pm
Highlander Dawg = GTBABY = douche
Mike T.
April 15th, 2010
12:54 pm
Hey St. Simons, the name of the song is 25-6-to 4, not 25-6.
Dawg Fan
April 15th, 2010
12:57 pm
Sarah what a loser. Tech beat the Dogs like every other team has done this year. Our pitching has not delivered unless you count delivering beach balls instead of BB’s. UGA owns Tech…get used to it. Just look at the series record in all sports…face the truth.
Bill King is a.......
April 15th, 2010
1:01 pm
Highlander Dawg….or belue
Bill King is a.......
April 15th, 2010
1:01 pm
just kidding
how2fish
April 15th, 2010
1:01 pm
ga gator patrick is our lunatic fringe..and he has the alter ego’s to prove it !
STEINER
April 15th, 2010
1:02 pm
Saint Simons:
You hid out so long after the November 28 debacle that we thought you had passed away….Now to come on a football blog talking about a baseball score…..Glad to have you back however….We worried about you for a long while….You finally took the Doctor’s advice and took those 2 daily luke warm enemas to clear your system of that November 28 collapse at “The Little House”…Good to have you back….
dawgfacedboy
April 15th, 2010
1:06 pm
Don’t need to read this article know he hasn’t named a starting qb. And yet I still came in and blogged, hmmmmmmmm…
AltamahaDawg
April 15th, 2010
1:12 pm
EW, you need to look at our roster and revisit that idea of our second string defense being is a wash with our second team offense. I am not one saying Mett did well only because it was the #2. Stepping up and throwing the ball, no matter, is what it is. But the #2 offense is Not even close to the same drop off that you get across the line.
And it really wasnt about pure talent position by position anyway. More to the point that folks were making is that you have to look at WHAT the #2s were trying to do. The offense was quite vanilla in order to match the defense showing nothing with the #1, you would have to assume it was even more so with the #2 on the field. So it was controlled and scripted, not the best time to make absolute judgements.
And every credible “insider/reporter” that I have read this week says that Murray would be way ahead in managing a game against an actual defense trhowing wrinkles at him, while showing (except for that particular scrimmage) equally impressive skills chunking the ball.
Personally, I don’t see the big deal to name anybody #1, #2, in April because it’s certainly not going to mean anything in August. #3 probably needs to know that now though.
puppydawg
April 15th, 2010
1:13 pm
JD, that was uncalled for. How dare you insult pigs that way?
Johnny
April 15th, 2010
1:13 pm
Sarah is a funny name for a guy. But then, I guess not for a Tech guy.
Bulldog59
April 15th, 2010
1:13 pm
RAMBLE ON (appropriate name), do you really want to question the caliber of UGA’s student body and the value of a UGA diploma? Just for fun, if you graduated HS, apply to UGA and send them your transcripts, then post what the rejection letter says.
Slim
April 15th, 2010
1:22 pm
Georgia may win 3 games this year….
AltamahaDawg
April 15th, 2010
1:26 pm
It’s not one scrimmage, it’s not 3 scrimmages, it’s not 15 days either. This staff has seen every single step these guys have made since last spring, and all through a RS year. Countless drills, scrimmages, meetings, and film room tests. RS year means you and I didn’t see them much, but the staff damn sure did.
It’s not this is open mic night at the comedy club, and let’s take a vote by audience applause.
puppydawg
April 15th, 2010
1:26 pm
Slim, imagine your embarrassment when you lose to a 3-win team.
Ty
April 15th, 2010
1:27 pm
Saint Simons
April 15th, 2010
10:08 am
(((((((( 25 – 6 ))))))) hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
You’re a baseball school now?!? hahahahahahahahahahaha.
God, you people are pathetic.
puppydawg
April 15th, 2010
1:31 pm
Saint Simons, glad to see that you’ve finally crawled out from under your rock. But just to talk trash about baseball? C’mon, that all you got? Now, get back to Sarah. She said that you still have 10 minutes left on the meter.
longdog
April 15th, 2010
1:33 pm
Sarah we still hold the record for kicking tech ass in baseball too. 25-1
BullochDawg
April 15th, 2010
1:37 pm
“…It’s hard to have somebody just heads and tails above the others when they’re all very talented guys…”
)
I guess since they’re Dawgs they could be tails above someone.
In other news, Richt said some of his linemen “aren’t the brightest knives in the deck”
76-Dawg
April 15th, 2010
1:37 pm
Just look at CMR’s track record when he was at Florida State. Two national titles with mobile QB’s. Even though i think Mett will get plenty of playing time MR wants a mobile QB. That’s why Gray is still in the mix and because of Murray’s turn overs. CMR will not tolerate turn overs this year so the QB job is Murray’s to win or loss and it will all depend on his turn overs. If Murray’s half ass performance in the G game was do to nerves in front of 38000 fans wait until he has to play in front of 100,000 hostile fans. All of these things have to be considered and that why CMR makes the big bucks.
Marcogreek
April 15th, 2010
1:40 pm
I wouldn’t tell the Philly turd-burglar anything either…What’s wrong with Coach Richt?
saint simmons
April 15th, 2010
1:47 pm
I hear Tech has a wicked awesome Ultimate Frisbee team this year and defeated UGA 10-8 in an unsanctioned scrimmage. Yeah!! Take that!!
(((10-8))))
Gunner Dog
April 15th, 2010
1:47 pm
Mett threw 1 td in 1st scrimmage in Mar
2 td’s in 2nd scrimmage in april
2 td’s in 3rd scirmmage
5 td’s, 1 int
got those stats from Tim Tucker’s posts on this blog from all 3 games (go back and review them)
david hale is wrong, and could be negatively biased against Mettenberger by taking away 2 of Mettenberger’s td’s
mett had 5 td’s, 1 int in 3 scrimmages = 5.0 td to int ratio
murray had 2 td’s, 3 int’s in 3 scrimmages = .67 td to int ratio
Mett is 740% better in td to int ratio than Murray in the 3 scrimmages.
No clear cut winner?
Please.
Gunner Dog
April 15th, 2010
1:48 pm
if richt goes with ANOTHER turnover prone QB like Cox, could go 8-5, could be out of athens fast. very risky.
DawgBuzz
April 15th, 2010
1:59 pm
From Bill King on G-Day….
It wasn’t really the statistics that wowed the G-Day crowd. It was Mettenberger’s rifle-like passes that several times threaded the needle through coverage, and the fact that while he may be the least mobile of the three quarterbacks, he looked the most comfortable under pressure, smoothly stepping up in the pocket to avoid blitzing defenders and delivering his passes with zip and precision.
The other two QBs looked more harried, particularly Murray, who not only threw a pick on an ill-advised attempt to avoid a sack but also threw a couple of panicky passes that seemed to accomplish nothing more than letting someone else take the hit. Murray also overthrew most of his long passes.
Another factor appeared to be that at 6-foot-5 Mettenberger had an advantage in seeing over the pass rush and downfield, which on this day seemed to make up for the fact that he is less likely to roll out or keep the ball than Gray or Murray.
how2fish
April 15th, 2010
2:07 pm
Gunner Dog..really you get the stats from 3 scrimmages and you feel worthy to 2nd guess a coach who has coached 2 Hesiman winner at QB a No.1 NFL draft pick at QB and Oh bye the way until Tebow passed him he also coached the QB with the most wins in college football history..really ??
Katie
April 15th, 2010
2:08 pm
I’m a freshman at UGA this year and I just noticed that we haven’t beaten Florida two times in a row since the 1988 and 1989 seasons, that is before I was born. We got to get with it and win some more games down in Jacksonville. Go Dogs!
ugaclassof2004
April 15th, 2010
2:14 pm
Thanks Katie,
You just made us all feel really old! LOL!
UGAKEV
April 15th, 2010
2:15 pm
I think there is a reason coach Richt Went light on Mettenberger with a one game suspension. Not to say that was the right punishment but CMR is usually harder on his punishmentS with his players. Being at g day i was Fustrated because it seemed when murray came in to quarter back it was hand off hand off and a screen pass. I just think murrays rhythm never got goin. with that said i dont care what defense Mettenburger threw against the throws he was making could not be defended by any defense. I just think its another david greene shockley situation
JB
April 15th, 2010
2:22 pm
Logan Gray will start the first two games. Study Richt’s history. Mett on suspension and Aaron not quite ready and Logan…………………………….drum roll……………….”being a senior and in the program for 4 years gives us the best chance to win” Ba Boom !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Logan will HAVE TO MAKE Richt give one of these other guys a chance……..Logan COULD NOT BEAT OUT JOE COX FOR THE JOB…..WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT !!!!!!!!!! If we’re gonna go 8-4, let’s let one of the young guys have at it…..or both of them.
AltamahaDawg
April 15th, 2010
2:23 pm
Gunner, those Hale stats were from his article where he was pointing out that the (2 scrimmages) stats prior to G-day were almost interchangable. (and his contention that G-day was so overly staged, and it wasnt apples for apples).
You are correct about your stats from all three.
and actually tebow didnt pass Greene, Colt Mccoy did.
Saint Simons
April 15th, 2010
2:27 pm
Tech just hit another homerun!!!!!!! ((((((( 25 – 6)))))))) hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
patrick
April 15th, 2010
2:34 pm
ummmm UGA is in decline over last 4 years?????
Wait a minute I am confused.
Didnt UGA finish SECOND IN THE NATION in 2007?
Isn’t 2007 within the last FOUR YEARS?
Didnt UGA finish 10th/13th in 2008?
So in last 4 years UGA has finished 4th and 10th and thats a decline????
Wow where was UGA ranked higher than SECOND IN THE NATION before that you would claim that SECOND IN THE NATION is a decline.
Wouldn’t UGA have to have finished at NUMBER ONE IN THE NATION at some point for SECOND IN THE NATION to be a decline. Some people are kinda ……well moronic.
patrick
April 15th, 2010
2:35 pm
thanks BuLLdawg for the updated numbers. The ones I was using was from ESPN of the week prior to the ALA game in 2008 when they compared Saban to Richt. Here is the link
.
So not lying just didnt properly extrapolate the numbers from then. Now go argue with the world wide leader in sports. Moron
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/467/nick-saban-vs-mark-richt
UNDER Richt
Vs. SEC foes: 52-23
.
Vs. Top 25 foes: 29-18
.
Vs. Top 25 foes away from home: 18-12
.
Vs. Top 10 foes: 8-6
.
In postseason games (bowls and championships): 9-3
.
In games decided by a touchdown or less: 34-14
.
Record at home: 46-11
.
Record on the road: 42-6 (including bowl games)
.
Losses to unranked teams: 6
.
Top 25 finishes: 8
.
Top 10 finishes: 6
.
Fact:………UGA was 12-1 in 2002 (prior to bowl selections)
.
Fact ………Fla was 12-1 in 2006 (prior to bowl selections)
.
Fact ………Not UGAs fault there were 2 unbeatens that year. “unlucky”
.
Fact……….Not Flas credit that there was only one unbeaten in 2006. “Lucky”
.
Fact:………Luck (not merit) had more to do with Fla getting an invite to the BCS not that Fla was more deserving to go to a NC than UGA with identical records.
.
Fact:………No SEC team has ever lost a BCSNC game and if UGA would have been invited nothing indicates that it would have been different
.
Fact……….UGA has 2 SEC titles..same as Fla in last 9 years and equal amount of total wins (90) over all.
.
Fact……….UGA has been ranked more times top ten in last 9 years than any SEC team at 6. Fla has only been ranked top ten 3 times in 9 years (real impressive).
.
Fact……….In 9 years under Richt the only SEC team with more wins is LSU
Fact………..UGA has won 4 str8 bowls….more than any other SEC team.
.
Fact……..UGA has won 11 of last 13 bowls…Thats more than any team (tied with LSU and more than FLA)
.
Fact…… UGA has won 8 or more games in last 13 years…more than any other team in the nation including Fla.
.
Fact…….UGA is clearly as good or better than any SEC team over last 9 years. Only a fool or a fan of the mythical BCSNC selection process (non playoff) would think otherwise.
.
Fact…….UGA had same record when they won the SEC title in 2002 as Fla did in 2006/8 when they won the SEC title. But UGA had the misfortune (luck) to have that record in a year that had 2 other teams with undefeated records.
Hardly an indictment on UGA but rather on the NC selection process.
6 times finished in the top 10
2 times finished in the top 3
3 SEC Championship Appearances
2 SEC Titles
3 BCS Bowls
2 Sugar Bowl wins
90-27 record over 8 seasons – 79% winning percentage (one of only 7 in the history of college ball to have ever accomplished this)
4 str8 bowl wins
7-2 in bowls (big games)
Mark Richt coached QB coach for Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke = 2 Heismans; Head Coach for David Greene = all time winningest college QB until Colt McCoy this year); and coached Matthew Stafford = very rich #1 draft pick)
No Probations
He has my respect.
Period.
Simon
April 15th, 2010
2:44 pm
“Didnt UGA finish SECOND IN THE NATION in 2007?”
Sure did! Didn’t play in the SEC Title game though. South Carolina 16 UGA 12
“Didnt UGA finish 10th/13th in 2008?”
Sure did! Florida 49 UGA 10 Bama 31 UGA 0 at the half Ga Tech 45 UGA 42
JB
April 15th, 2010
2:45 pm
All I know is Tech is the ACC champs and the Dawgs steamrolled them on their home field.
Embarrassing. With a pretty average team. Iowa validated our victory …..Tech struggles against BCS type teams.
82Dawg
April 15th, 2010
2:48 pm
Patrick…glad to see your still with us..where have you been?
82Dawg
April 15th, 2010
2:56 pm
Simon …Didn’t Tech win the ACC in 2009 yep sure did UGA 30 Tech 24..so what is your point?
Coach Richt
April 15th, 2010
3:29 pm
I have some BIG news. The AD is installing a tanning bed in my office to save me trips to Safari Tan during the week. With all the extra time I will be able to shoot some more Carpets of Dalton commercials and visit players locked up in the Clarke County Jail. I gotta find some time to work on football krapp too.
how2fish
April 15th, 2010
3:31 pm
AltamahaDawg
your right my bad it was Colt!
how2fish
April 15th, 2010
3:34 pm
Coach Richt we the Bull dog nation have some BIG news for you…..30-24!
College baseball is best explained this way
April 15th, 2010
3:40 pm
My cousin quite a few years back played high school ball in metro Atlanta and was a top PRO draft choice as a HS senior by one team. He chose to attend Mississippi State and play baseball there and was later drafted again as a top draft choice about his senior year. I knew that I had not seen in over like 4 years after HS that much.
I asked his dad, my mother’s bother, where he had been and he said “well, he has played MSU baseball, was all sec and had been drafted by the …….” See?
My own first cousin was all world in the SEC and only his parents knew it. THAT best describes the attention to college baseball. This is a true story and if I said his name and the pro team, everyone my generation would recognize it. College baseball is like frat ball ……….NO ONE even cares. You go to the games to watch the BABES SUNBATHE ……….well, um unless it is tech.
As for Tech whupping my UGA …………….way to go nerds. UGA needs to go to work and re load.
Gunner Dog
April 15th, 2010
3:49 pm
If Riicht already had his mind made up BEFORE the 3 scrimmages, fine, just tell us that. But don’t claim the qb depth chart will be based on the 3 scrimmages, and then go back on that.
If Murray gets it, it’s because he did things that don’t show up in the stats like:
recognizing coverages
audible to correct running play
throwing to correct receiver
yards rushing when he’s in there
12 practices prior to scrimmages
off the field leadership
feedback from teammates on perceived leader
I just am so stunned by Mett’s performance of the 5 td’s against only 1 int, and a 64% accuracy. That’s all anyone could dream about for an SEC QB.
Logan might be #2 on the dpeth chart because of experience, and he had the 2nd best td to int ration at 2.0. Logan’s td to int ratio was 300% better than Murray’s. That matters a lot.
I also might put it for RIGHT NOW:
1- METT
2- GRAY
3- MURRAY
Then, if Murray steps it up and beats the competition in the coming scrimmages before the 1st game, fine, let him start #1 on the depth cxhart after he EARNS it.
But don’t GIVE IT TO HIM BASED ON PREFERENCE OR ENTITLEMENT OR UNEARNED CRITERIA.
Mett got in trouble drinking, so did Bama’s Wilson, and Eli Manning and Garcia, etc. Manning did fine and learned form that mistake.
AltamahaDawg
April 15th, 2010
3:58 pm
Well since no player has ever been given a starting position based on that, can’t see much danger of it.
big mo
April 15th, 2010
4:00 pm
If you’re going to hold these quarterbacks ACCOUNTABLE for their performance, then you can’t let Aaron Murray be #1 on the depth chart currently.
You also need to suspend Zach Mettenberger 1 game for his alcohol related poor decision making.
I do not see Coach Richt letting interceptions slide for Murray. I believe the head coach will send a loud message that the standard for a University of Georgia Quarterbacks is much higher than what Aaron has done so far. It’s simply not good enough. We must have a quarterback who protects the football and helps his teammates out.
I do not think Coach Richt will tolerate penalties and interceptions any longer. Enough is enough.
If he does, it might be time to look for a new Head Coach like the Boise St guy, or Kirby Smart, who DOES understand the importance of turnover margin. Fans have had enough of the old Georgia QB’s and the interception problems going on season after season. Richt needs to fix it fast, or he will likely lose his job to someone who can get it done correctly.
Delusional Dawg
April 15th, 2010
4:02 pm
It’s becoming clear that Richt is not certain himself and is not ready to name the QB. But what’s the hurry anyway, I would think you would want to see how each guy progresses mentally and physically over the summer and see how he handles those two-a-days. But UGA fans want to go ahead and annoint the next “Joe Montana” and I’ve noticed many doggies have jumped off that Murray bandwagon after proclaiming him the next great thing just a few weeks ago.
mdbatl
April 15th, 2010
4:03 pm
Are we still debating the quarterback deal? Seriously?
Like David Hale said yesterday, a lot of you think there is some kind of conspiracy by Richt/Bobo/the devil/etc. to make Murray the starter and in the process not make the team the best it can be. Hate to say it, but that’s stupid.
Even as a journalism major, Mark Richt doesn’t not owe the media or us a depth chart as soon as possible. And I trust his judgment in selecting a starter– he’s the one who’s seen these guys in EVERY practice.
Did Mett have a better G-Day than Murray? Absolutely. Were his stats better in practice? Not really. There’s far more to a quarterback than pinpoint accuracy or a rocket arm, and I’ll trust the coaches, who are better judges of such intangibles, to make the call. Just look at Matt Stafford and David Greene. Who had the better stats there? Who was more talented? Stafford for sure on both accounts (except for interceptions). But who won the most games?
POAD
April 15th, 2010
4:07 pm
The Craziest thing about College Football is that one Hurt Player can change a game and a season real fast. The drop from Starter to Backup can be HUGE. VT lost the great RD last year but the new kids was great too. UGA had Stafford leave and look what you got with COX. Bama might be great but if Ingram goes down are they sure the other kid is for real really? Tebo gone are the Gators sure the new kid is the answer? What if Brantley gets hurt then what do the Gatores Have? If Ealey goes down and UGA has to live with KING then what?
Tony
April 15th, 2010
4:13 pm
Did I figure this right?
Murray threw 56 passes in 3 scrimmage game. 3 interceptions.
Murray is throwing an interception every 17 passes?
On track to beat Joe Cox’s record form last season?
Reality
April 15th, 2010
4:31 pm
“capable” Seriously? That is what is supposed to excite fans? LOL! I can hear the chant now: “WE ARE CAPABLE!” “WE ARE CAPABLE!”
UGA has always recruited “capable” players. Their problems are that they don’t produce up to their expectations on the field (likely bad coaching) and the fact that they are thugs and get arrested.
Keep your “capable”. I’m glad to be a Jacket fan with “other” players that win conference championships and go to BCS bowls!